Official Review: Death at Drayton Pond by Catherine Hudson

BlaqkViolette · Post by **BlaqkViolette** » 03 May 2015, 08:12

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Death at Drayton Pond" by Catherine Hudson.]

4 out of 4 stars

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“Death at Drayton Pond” by Catherine Hudson is a short thriller story based in the late 18th Century. A short prologue helps to shoot the reader straight into the story.

The main character Alice is sent to a boarding school at eight years old after the murder of her older Sister Clara at Drayton Pond, so called due to the discovery of Dorothy Drayton’s mutilated body a century earlier. After 11 years at the boarding school, which she has grown to call her home, her estranged father calls Alice back to the family estate so as to care for her mother. Arriving back home and into the local town, she finds it hard to rebuild a relationship with her family. Her older sister Libby will not speak more than two words to her and appears to deeply loathe Alice. Her mother, who doesn’t seem to be ill, or needing to be taken care of, is not discreet in hiding her sexual relations with members of staff and other men in the town, with her father also having many sexual dalliances. The only person who seems explicitly pleased to see her is her older brother Cecil and his friends.

Alice feels uncomfortable in the family home, due to the behaviour of her parents and older sister. Her older brother Cecil has also broken his illusion of being a normal, loving older brother as Alice notices his alcohol and gambling problems. She meets a local, wealthy man by the name of Maxwell, whom she falls in love with at first sight, as he does with her and they swiftly marry. Glad to be out of the family home, Alice is happy and content in her new life with Maxwell, now expecting her own child. However, she soon starts to uncover many secrets surrounding the murder of her sister, and another local woman named Emma Harris.

The author does not waste time in setting the scene of the story, with the uneasiness of Alice’s situation being clear from the beginning. The dialogue used by the characters appears to have been well researched, bringing the reader back in time to where the story is set. The location of the story being set in a small town helps to create a sense of entrapment, which echoes Alice’s feelings at being brought back home after her time at boarding school.

The pace of the book is steady through the majority of the book, with the author slowly revealing information regarding different characters in the book as to who is responsible for the deaths of Emma Harris and Alice’s older sister Clara. The pace builds and quickens towards the end of the book as Alice starts to make sense of the clues and information that she has gathered, with the climax being exhilarating and enrapturing, but without missing out the description and eloquent writing which is profound in the rest of the book.

The characters are easy to connect with and the experiences each of them have resounds with the reader, creating a deeper empathy. The many character twists that the author includes, though not dramatic but still very impactful to the story, gives us, the reader, a deep sense of mistrust, the same feeling experienced by Alice.

All in all I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Although there were a few spelling and grammar mistakes in the book, these do not detract at all from the powerful story telling. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys period mystery/thriller books, or to anyone who is interested in Crime genres also.

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Death at Drayton Pond
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MissCC · Post by **MissCC** » 04 May 2015, 12:14

Thanks for the thorough review, your feedback is much appreciated. It is good to get someone else's perspective on the story. I am really glad you enjoyed reading Death at Drayton Pond. I will re-edit for the spelling and grammar errors, no excuse but sometimes they slip through so will re-edit after having stepped back from it for three months.

BlaqkViolette · Post by **BlaqkViolette** » 05 May 2015, 14:46

Thank you for the great book! Definitely, there were only a few though

Jesska6029 · Post by **Jesska6029** » 05 May 2015, 19:27

This seems like it could be a really great read. I do love books like this!

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 05 May 2015, 22:47

Great review! Is it just me, or does this book have a gorgeous, gothic cover? Your review gives the impression that this book is "dark" and somber (not in a bad way). Chilling.

BlaqkViolette · Post by **BlaqkViolette** » 06 May 2015, 15:35

The cover is gorgeous! It definitely helps set the mood of the book! If you like the cover, I would highly recommend giving it a read!

MissCC · Post by **MissCC** » 07 May 2015, 07:10

Glad to hear only a few errors! Thanks everyone for the comments on the book cover, the subject matter is dark and I wanted a cover to reflect this.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 07 May 2015, 12:00

Well, it does! It's positively gothic! I love that cover. Congrats on getting such a good review!

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 May 2015, 12:14

Nice, thoughtful review. The book sounds intriguing. Sigh...another one to add to my very long reading list.

MissLeila · Post by **MissLeila** » 08 May 2015, 14:47

I love a cover when it reflects the content of the book, and judging by the review, it definitely did.

Also great detailed review, the book really sounds intriguing, it really makes me want to read it!

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 08 May 2015, 15:09

bookowlie wrote:Nice, thoughtful review. The book sounds intriguing. Sigh...another one to add to my very long reading list.

Tell me about it. When Granny Smith was still alive, she was always saying, "Read the books you have first, before you keep buying other books!" Now, when I look at all the unread books on my shelf, I realize that Granny knew best.

Oh well.

Maybe I could just open my own bookstore.

TheMusicalMuse · Post by **TheMusicalMuse** » 11 May 2015, 20:58

I love your mention of the setting and its correlation to the tone of the story. Lots of people pick up on the uncomfortable vibe, but few understand and can verbalize the cause behind the story's mood. Well written review!

BlaqkViolette · Post by **BlaqkViolette** » 12 May 2015, 08:14

TheMusicalMuse wrote:I love your mention of the setting and its correlation to the tone of the story. Lots of people pick up on the uncomfortable vibe, but few understand and can verbalize the cause behind the story's mood. Well written review!

Thank you

!

Post by **bookowlie** » 12 May 2015, 17:05

You mentioned that the author slowly reveals info about who is responsible for the two murders. I like that writing style as opposed to a big dump of info all at once.

BlaqkViolette · Post by **BlaqkViolette** » 13 May 2015, 05:26

bookowlie wrote:You mentioned that the author slowly reveals info about who is responsible for the two murders. I like that writing style as opposed to a big dump of info all at once.

Yeah, the author reveals enough to raise your suspicions bit by bit, which is a nice change from being overwhelmed by a huge twist no one saw coming!